For years, gamers have developed feelings for characters that don't exist in the traditionally tangible world. They might look real, but the characters are a composition of art and reality. They are virtual.

In the West, when someone says Pokémon, you think about your favorite Pocket Monster, the cartoons, or the games themselves. The same goes for Japan, but there's something else that comes to mind. Make that, someone else.

After one of Japan's most beloved gaming mascots Takahashi Meijin revealed that he was leaving Hudson Soft, 23-year-old pin-up model Haruna Anno took to Twitter and her blog. She knew that he was leaving beforehand and talked to Takahashi about his decision, revealing that the conversation made her weep. But there's…

In Japan, pin-up model Aki Higashihara's blog is notorious. It's called the "Death Blog", after manga Death Note. In the popular comic, writing people's names in the "Death Note" notebook leads to their demise. On the Japanese internet, the same is said about Higashihara's blog.

Back in 2008, before the stabbings, Akihabara was a carefree place. Otaku ("geeks") roamed from shop to shop, maids passed out fliers and cosplayers posed up a storm. The Akihabara Massacre changed all that, but things are normalizing. Want proof? The area's most famous flasher is ready to hit the streets of Akiba…

This past weekend, collectible figurine event Wonder Festival was held in Chiba, Japan. Collectors and cosplayers gathered for the festivities. Voice actress Haruna Ikezawa was in attendance, and she ended up having a rotten time.

Night of Sacrifice is an upcoming horror game for the Wii. A melodramatic, alarming teaser trailer of bikini model Saya Hikita playing through it showed the 21-year-old ending up in tears. But the game can't be that scary, can it?

In Japan, there are idols for everything, whether it be trains, personal computers or, of course, video games. They have one thing in common: they're all smiley and cute. But what about an idol that never showed her face?

When Kinect went on sale in Japan, there was a big promotional event at a retailer in Akihabara. Over a hundred people lined up, and roughly half of them are now in possession of a very valuable collectible.